Between love and despise
by Orgrim Doomhammer
Summary: Alice/Yugo, THE couple from Bloody Roar, primal fury. That's what this fic's about. Alice falls for a perfect guy, but he bears a dark secret. Oh, it ain't finished yet
1. 1

Dust flew about as Alice fell down on the dusty, sandy ground of the training pit. As she lay there on her stomach, her eyes got watery because of the dust which irritated her eyes and because of the pain she experienced. She caughed the dust out of her longs and she felt her dark- brown hair, which reached to above her shoulders, stick to her face thanks to the sweat which stained her forehead. Alice was a very beautiful, very smart girl, but because her poor parents, she wasn't able to finish her study, though she so badly wanted to. She had heard of a man called Long, who wanted a pupil to educate martial arts. She had met with him and he had agreed to pay for her study if she would become his pupil. Long had seemed a friendly man, with his glasses and his black ponytail at the back of his head, but he was merciless regarding training. Alice looked up at the man who had just tackled her hard by kicking her legs in an unhealthy angle. Long stood with his arms in his sides. He was wearing his green fighting outfit. "P... please, master Long. J... just five minutes break." Alice said as she noticed her lower lip was burst. The sand on it was painful. "No." Long said. "If you want to be the best, you have to suffer." he continued stern. At that moment, a young man walked past the entrance to the training pit, which looked more like an arena from the Roman ages. His attention was drawn by the scene. He walked into the arena, a towel wrapped around his shoulders and his white t-shirt was soaked in sweat. His light- brown hair was seemingly uncombed after his obvious workout. "Cut her some slack." he said to long with his daring voice. Alice sat up on her knees as she looked at the young man. She estimated him a few years older than herself. She noticed how handsome he was, strong arms and broad shoulders included. She also noticed a cross-shaped scar right above his nose. "Mind your own business, kid." Long said, looking at him. "You call this training?" the young man asked. "You're beating her half to death." he said as soon as he stood next to Long. "I have my own methods of training." Long commented. "I don't doubt it. Leave her alone." the young man said as he walked to Alice. He sticked out his hand to her. "Hi there, beautiful. I'm Yugo. With who do I have the honor?" Alice chuckled as she took Yugo's hand and he lifted her up her feet. It gave him a moment to study her. She wore a white mini-skirt, which went all the way till her midsection and which allowed her to move freely. She also wore an unzipped jacket in the same color under which she wore a blue t-shirt over the upper part of her odd mini-skirt. She wore white boots and whit, fingerless gloves. Yugo studied her fantastic legs the longest. "I'm Alice." Alice said, flattered by Yugo's appearance "You okay?" Yugo asked. Alice nodded. "I'm fine. Just a few scratches."  
  
"Your lip's in a bad shape."  
  
"It hurts a bit." Alice said. "Excuse me!" Long said out loud. "Don't flatter this girl, she needs to strengthen up!" Yugo turned to Long and pressed his finger against the man's chest. "Better adjust your training, pal. Or it gets nasty." Having said that, Yugo turned to Alice one more time and gave her a smile which made her heart melt. He turned around and walked to the exit of the arena. "Yugo, wait." Alice said, hurrying herself to him. Yugo turned around to her. Alice folded her hands behind her back as she looked down to the dusty ground. "Ehm..." she started. She looked up at him again. "Will I see you again?"  
  
"Sure. I'll be around here most of the time. You can train with me if you want."  
  
"Wait a minute..." Long said, trying to interrupt the two. "That would be great!" Alice said, letting her arms fall to her sides. "How about tomorrow?" she said enthusiastic. "Fine with me." Yugo said. "Alice..." Long started. "You can forget about your study if you go with him." Alice turned to her teacher. "But, master Long..." Alice tried. "No buts." Long said stern. Alice looked down. "Study?" Yugo asked. "Master Long pays for my study as long as I am his pupil." Alice explained, looking sad. "What do you study?" Yugo asked. "Psychology." Alice answered. "Wow. Tough stuff. Must be pricy. You know what I'll see whether I'm able to get the necessary funds." Alice looked up at Yugo with a mixture of surprise and admiration in her eyes. "That won't be necessary, I..."  
  
"It's no trouble. And besides, it's an honor to be able to do something for the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." Yugo said as he blinked at her. Alice was well underway to complete meltdown as soon as he had spoken the words. To hear that from such a handsome guy! "I'll see you around." Yugo said before he turned around and left the arena. "Good rideance." Long said, but Alice kept staring at the exit, completely in thought. Long noticed it and charged Alice before he bashed into her with his shoulder. Alice hit the ground for a second time as dust flew about. She slowly turned around and kept seared, placing her hands behind her back for support, closing her eyes and whishing the terrible pain would go away. "Why did you do that, master Long?" she asked, her eyes still closed. "Always be on your guard." Long said, feeling no compassion for Alice. Compassion was for the weak. "Get up so we can resume your training."  
  
The next day, Alice had gotten a few minutes break from training, which gave her time to explore the compound. There were two types of rooms: The arenas and the fitnessrooms. In one fitnessroom, she saw just two man: Yugo and a smaller guy. Alice's heart skipped a few beats as she saw Yugo. He was rapidly punching a punching-bag. He hit it constantly with a continuing pace and strength. He was wearing a sleaveless leather shirt and black pants. Alice noticed the same type of scars on his arms as the one on his face. She carefully stepped into the room. Would Yugo remember her? A guy like him would have all the girls at his feet. How could he possibly remember her? The smaller guy, who wore a strange suit and had dark-brown hair, noticed her and walked to her. "Sorry, lady. No autographes. Leave the champ at his training." Alice was surprised by this. Champion? She was disappointed. Had she finally met a great guy and then he appeared out of her reach. She wanted to turn around and leave. Perhaps cry her eyes out, but much to her delighted surprised, Yugo said: "Hey, Alice. Good to see you! Don't mind my little brother." He walked to her and stopped right in front of her. Closer to her than Alice thought comfortable, but she didn't mind. Not at all. "He's a bit of a nut." Before Yugo's younger brother could say a thing in defense, Yugo continued. "You're looking great, Alice." Despite her fierce attempts to hide it, Alice blushed a little. "Thank you." was all she could say. "Hey, I got the money." Yugo said after a short time of silence between the two. Alice gave him a surprised look. "Is that why we fought yesterday?" Yugo's brother asked. "We?" Yugo said. "Okay, okay. I just hope the money will be spent well."  
  
"It WILL be spent well. It's for her study." Yugo said. "Excuse me." Alice started. "What is going on here? How did you get that money?" Alice asked, getting suspicious. "We sometimes go to rough bars and Bakurio here bets that I can beat the strongest men in the place and that's how we get out money." Yugo shortly explained. "We sometimes loose the bet, though. That's rather humiliating." Yugo said, chuckling. "Alice had definetly fallen for Yugo. She knew it. What a fantastic guy was he. Sweet, handsome, strong, brave... He was perfect! Little did she know at that time that Yugo held a dark secret. A mark from days long gone. A secret that would influence her life and test her love for him. 


	2. 2

"Shall I tell your master where to stick it?" Yugo joked. Alice giggled a bit. "That won't be necessary. I tell him that I quit. No more pain." she said cheerful.  
  
With an overwhelming sense of happiness, Alice walked from the gym to her home. She was still living with her parents, since she just couldn't afford to rent a room. All the money she earned went into her study. But now Yugo would pay for it and she would be able to take a job and earn something to rent a room and get her life really started. It was autumn and pretty cold, so Alice zipped up her jacket as leaves danced through the streets. She felt absolutely great! This was mainly caused by Yugo. She was crazy about him.  
  
Whether he liked her too, she couldn't tell. He was saying such nice things to her, but perhaps he was just fooling her a bit. He was a sweet guy, nonetheless. She had decided to go to the gym on a regular basis. She just wanted to see him. She was nearing her house.  
  
It wasn't big, but big enough. Big enough for her father, mother, her little sister and herself. Alice smiled as she thought of her little sister Uriko. She wasn't really her sister, but she had been adopted by Alice's parents. She was always cheerful. Always. No matter how hard life was, no matter how many bad things happened, she remained optimistic. Little Uriko with her nerverending laughter.  
  
Alice loved her like a real sister and would do anything for her. And perhaps now Alice would be able to work and give Uriko a future she deserved. A future where the fifteen-year-old could learn and study, just as Alice had done and was doing. Just when Alice turned around the corner and approached her house, she saw a strange man leaving her house. He had his hair coloured green and wore strange clothes with sandals and all sorts of trinkets hanging from his belt.  
  
He wore weird glasses and had a disturbed look in his eyes. He looked around and saw Alice. Then the man started to laugh. It was a terrible, cackling laugh. A laugh Alice would never forget. "Hello, Alice." the man spoke with his clown-like voice, which held a touch of darkness in it. "Who are you?" Alice asked, scared by the man's appearance. "That is of no importance, sweetheart." he said chuckling. "What is important is..." he continued. "That you are having bad relations. You are getting too freindly with Yugo, darling."  
  
"Yugo?" Alice said surprised, wondering what such a strange character had to do with Yugo. "Yes, Yugo is very dangerous and we don't want you to get hurt. He's a psycho, a murderer and raper." Alice looked at the man surprised. "How dare you say such things about him! He's very kind and I don't take threats from a joker such as yourself!" Alice said angry.  
  
"I'm not lying, sweetheart. He has murdered a lot of people. And you could be next. I warn you to stay away from him. Haven't you noticed how close he gets to you?" Alice got even more surprised by the second. "Who are you?" she asked again.  
  
"Are you stalking me?" The man shook his head. "No, I'm just here to protect you." Having said that, the weird man walked off, leaving Alice puzzled. Then her mother appeared in the entrance to of the house. "What a nice man, eh Alice?" she said. "He just gave me a suitcase filled with money which he had saved for you because he admires you so much." Alice looked at her mother. This all went so incredibly fast. What was going on here? Her mother just took a lot of money from a complete stranger? Was Yugo not who he presumed to be? Alice shook her head. She felt as if she had gotten into a story of some demented writer. This couldn't possibly be real! It just went too fast.  
  
"Money?" she asked her mother with a vague expression on her face. Her mother nodded. "Yes, tens of thousends of dollars, incredible!"  
  
"I bet it's stolen, you can't possibly trust him." Alice concluded. "It's not. It's from the account of a man called Xion, who was here as well. Very friendly man." Alice's head started to spin. What was this? Charity forever? She had to talk about this with someone, she couldn't cope with it all. Uriko would probably tell her that she had to look at the positive side of it and her father and mother seemed to happy with this money, which was obviously obtained by crime. Tens of thousends of dollars! Whether it were her hormons, her emotions or her common sense, Alice wanted to speak to no one but Yugo. Preferably alone.  
  
That last thought made her smile. She wouldn't mind being raped by him... Jeez, what a sick thought! This was all crazy. She had to talk to Yugo about this. Perhaps he knew that odd man and Xion. "I'm going back to the gym, mother." Alice said suddenly before she turned around and ran back to the gym, leaving her mother puzzled behind. Why did her daughter always had to be so hard? They could finally start the life they had always dreamed of. As Alice was running, she was trying to get everything in line. Her life had been so simple before and now her parents were suddenly rich and everyone wanted to give her money. She didn't want money from Yugo! She wanted his... Crap! Could she please control her hormons for just five minutes? Obviously not.  
  
She ran around a corner, just a few metres away from the gym. Without looking where she went, she bumped into someone and stumbled backwards. She lost her balance and fell on the ground. "I'm sorry, I..." Alice started, but she recognised the person in front of her. It was Yugo. "Talk about magnetic influence." Yugo joked. He grabbed her hand and lifted her up her feet. "You okay?" he asked. "Yes, thank you." Alice said, not daring to look at him, though she could look at him all day. "What's the rush, oh gentle flower of life?" Yugo asked, unable to get a serious expression on his face. "I... I was looking for you." Alice said. "No wonder, I'm such an attractive guy." Yugo joked. "Yes..." Alice said, more in thought than healthy at that moment. She quickly looked up at Yugo. "Er... I mean, I wanted to ask you something..."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Do you know a man called Xion?" Alice asked. Yugo's eyes shot wide open. "X... Xion..." he murmered. "What has he done? Has that bastard touched you !? I kill him!" Yugo yelled, drawing some attention from the streets. He was furious. "N... no... He granted us thousends of dollars, but there was this other man, a weird guy with green hair, who told me that you are a murderer and told me that I should stay clear of you. That's not true, is it?" Yugo turned away from Alice.  
  
"Busuzima... Damn!" he cursed. "They don't allow it, they just don't!" He turned to Alice again. "I'm sorry I've dragged you into this, Alice." he said with a soft voice. "You are in grave danger. And it's all because of me. I wish I could protect you, but they're too strong. I'm so sorry." Alice startled from this. How could someone possibly be stronger than Yugo? "What's going on here, Yugo? I demand to know." Alice said. Yugo looked at her with sadness in his eyes. A sadness Alice would never have expected within Yugo. She gathered every courage that was within her and put her flat hand against his cheek. "Tell me, Yugo. What makes you so scared?" she asked. "I'm affraid that you'll die." Yugo answered after some time. "Then what's going on? Is there possibly someone you can't handle?"  
  
"Yes. You." Yugo said bittered. Before Alice could express her surprise, Yugo said: "Be extremely careful for Busuzima and Xion. They're dangerous. Warn everyone you love, everyone you care for and most of all... Stop seeing me." This last part shocked Alice. "Wh... What? But..."  
  
"Alice, don't say a thing anymore." Yugo said. He gathered his courage and carefully grabbed Alice's head with his hands after which he placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Please forgive me, Alice."  
  
"Yugo..." Alice murmered dreamy. "It hurts to let you go, Alice, but it's the only way to save your life."  
  
"I won't go, Yugo." Alice said firmly. She wrapped her arms around Yugo's neck. She kissed him deeply. Yugo wanted to back away, but Alice didn't let go. "I'm a fool." Yugo murmered. "I don't know what's going on, Yugo. But I won't leave you alone."  
  
"You don't understand, Alice. They're dangerous. You have no idea."  
  
"Listen, jerk!" Alice said angry. "First you tell me how great and fantastic I am, you kiss me and now you tell me to just go away? It doesn't work that way, mister. I don't care how many people I provoke by loving you, but they won't stand between you and me. I'm a girl who follows her heart. And the first one who prevends me from doing that is in serious trouble!" Yugo was rather surprised by the tone in Alice's voice. This wasn't exactly the average helpless little girl. Yugo could tell that she wasn't quickly affraid. Perhaps he would have to fight himself out of his sorry situation. He couldn't keep running his entire life. He had to make a stand and now was the time. With Alice by his side, he could stand a chance. He could train her. She had the spirit for it. But that would be the same as risking her life. And she had to be trained fast. Perhaps he had to reveal his secret in the near future, but Xion had to be stopped. Yugo's sudden feeling of resistance was caused by the electrical discharge caused by Alice's deep kiss. Probably. He was just in love and didn't want to give up the fantastic feeling he got when he looked at her. Bakuryu had warned him, but Yugo hadn't listened to his younger brother. Now there was basicly no way back. He had to make a stand. For Alice's sake.  
  
"I'll train you." Yugo said. "Oh yeah?" Alice asked, not sure whether she wanted it. "You have no choice. If you're in with me, you'll have to be able to defend yourself." Yugo said firm. Alice let go of Yugo. "Okay. So when do we start?" she asked. "Now." Yugo said, turning around and walking back to the gym. He got stopped by a man in a dark coat wearing sunglasses. "Hello Yugo." he said with a low voice. Yugo backed away. Other men came walking from the other side of the street. They were dressed the same as the one in front of Yugo. More came walking from behind Alice and more appeared from behind the first man. "I thought we had agreed on no happiness, Yugo. And now you have such a pretty girl. A shame we have to waste her. Don't try to stop us, Yugo. You know what happened previously." the first man said before he walked to Alice. At least, he tried to. Yugo stopped him by putting his hand on the man's chest. "Over my dead body." Yugo said, determined not to let Alice come to harm. The man grinned. "That can be arranged. Get him, boys."  
  
Before the man could react, Yugo punched him in his face two times before he spinned his body around and gave him a hard hit with the back of his fist. The man's body spinned around in the air and he hit the ground with his chest. Immediatly, the other men attacked Yugo from behind. Yugo quickly turned around and kicked the first man he saw in his side after which he placed an uppercut on the man's jaw, sending him soaring through the air. Yugo quickly moved his upper-body backwards to avoid a fist. He grabbed the arm which was attached to it, pulled it towards him and hit the man hard in his face, making him stumbling backwards. Before the villain could recover, Yugo jumped a little into the air, spinned his body around and kicked the man on his chest, making him fall backwards onto the pavement. Yugo landed just in time to duck to avoid a kick. He grabbed the leg and made a swiping punch, striking the man's other leg away from under his body. With two legs off the ground, the man fell down, helped by Yugo, who tossed the leg he held into the air. Yugo fought with extreme ferocity and speed. As if he had a sixth sense or something. Alice could barely believe how every attempt to hit him was neatly countered by Yugo and the men were falling like flies. He grabbed a man at both his arms and pulled the man to his side. The man lost his balance and stumbled forward, standing bent forward next to Yugo, who let himself drop onto the man's head. Alice could swear she heard something crack as the thug's head got smashed between Yugo and the street. Yugo quickly rolled away to avoid a foot which tried to smash him. He tossed his legs into the air and wrapped them around the man's neck. Yugo used his arms for balance and pulled the man he held to his side, making him hit the ground with his head. Yugo quickly stood up and awaited the rest of the men. They didn't attack anymore, but decided to run, knowing they wouldn't stand a chance with the few of them who were still left. One of them pointed a finger at Yugo, saying: "We'll be back, Yugo! Count on it!" before he ran off as well, leaving his beaten friends behind.  
  
"Good. I'm not done yet!" Yugo yelled at the fleeing men. He looked at Alice, who stared at him. He was panting. "Do you do this every day?" she asked, stunned by Yugo's perfomance. "No, this was a quiet day." Yugo said grinning, still panting. He noticed one of the beaten men lifting his head. Yugo kneeled next to him and grabbed him at his collar, lifting his head up. "Tell Xion I'm in love and that I'll fight from now on." Yugo said before dropping the man's head again. "They'll be back. We have to warn your family. Your parents and stuff. Do they live here closeby?" Yugo asked. Alice nodded. "I live with them. It's not too far away."  
  
"Okay. We take my motorcycle." Yugo said, walking to the direction where they had bumped into each other. Alice had no choice but to follow him. Yugo walked around the corner and stepped on a pretty old model. It was in a good shape nonetheless and it fitted Yugo perfectly. "Hop on." he said as he started up his motorcycle. Alice climbed up from behind Yugo and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Hold on." Yugo said. The motorcycle made a growling sound and Yugo manouvred it out of the position where it had been, onto the street. Alice pointed the direction where to go and Yugo put his feet onto the machine, opening the gas and riding in the direction pointed at by his newly, and quickly, found girlfriend.  
  
Alice's father opened the door for Alice and Yugo. "Hello, dad." Alice said. Alice's father's face turned grim as soon as he saw Yugo. "Yugo." he said. "Quickly get in, Alice." Alice looked at her father in surprise... "Wh... what?" Alice's father quickly grabbed Alice's arm and dragged her into the house. "Keep away from my daughter, scumbag! Try to hit on someone else. Get away or I'll call the police!"  
  
"But, sir. You are in great danger and..." Yugo tried, but Alice's father slammed the door. "What was that all about!?" Alice yelled angry at her father. "Mister Xion warned me about Yugo. He's a dangerous raper. Stay away from him."  
  
"That's ridicilous!" Alice yelled furious. "Yugo has saved my life today! He protected me! Xion is the bad guy, not Yugo!"  
  
"Saved your life?" her father said. That was a thing one didn't hear everyday. "Yes! There were men who wanted to kill me and Yugo beat them up."  
  
"Is that so? Probably a trick of him to earn your trust."  
  
"Of course not!" Aice said, putting her hands in her sides. "And above that, I love him." Alice was pretty agrivated. "What!?" her father yelled. "That's it, young lady. You keep away from him!"  
  
"That's ridicilous! I'm twenty-three! You can't boss me around like a kid anymore! I'm old enough to make my own decisions! And Yugo pays for my study, saved me and kissed me!"  
  
"What!? What more has he done!?"  
  
"You were always so stubborn! Yugo will NOT harm me!" Alice yelled before she ran up the stairs of the small, poor house. Alice's father heard the door of Alice's room slam. He sighed. Outside, Yugo didn't know what to do. He couldn't leave Alice alone. He had to protect her. So he sat down on the street, his back against the house. He would guard Alice. No matter what.  
  
The next morning, he felt someone touching his arm. He startled and awoke immediatly. He was looking in the caring eyes of Alice. "What the hell are you doing here!?" she yelled, starting to get the feeling Yugo was some sort of stalker. "I fell asleep!" Yugo said. He immediatly sat up and grabbed Alice at both her arms. "Have they done anything? Are you hurt?" he quickly asked. "No, what..." Yugo sighed in relief. "Can you explain me what you were doing? You're not some pathetic stalker are you?" Alice asked, hoping it wasn't the case. "What!? No! I was staying on guard. But I fell asleep." Yugo said, feeling sorry. Alice laughed. She believed Yugo and he wasn't a stalker. Or a raper for that matter. "You're weird." Alice said smiling. She brought her lips to his and the two kissed deeply, Yugo barely believing that he was still able to kiss her. He wrapped his arms around her upper body and she slid her slender arms around his neck. "Tasty breakfast." Yugo murmered as the two broke off their kiss. Alice smiled.  
  
"Come in, my parents are out working." she said, letting go of him and walking to the door. Yugo followed her, having nothing better to do. He felt his entire body hurt. Bricks weren't really comfortable. He was tired as well. He thought it was odd that Alice's parents hadn't seen Yugo when they had left. They must had mistaken him for a regular tramp. "Do you want something to eat?" Alice asked as soon as the two were inside and Alice had closed the door.  
  
"Yeah. You." Yugo said before he pressed her against the closed door and kissed her on her lips. He slid his tongue between them and rubbed it against Alice's. This was new for them both, but they learned pretty quickly. "So this must be your raper?" a girl's voice sounded from behind Yugo. Yugo and Alice broke off their passionate kiss and Yugo turned around, seeing a girl smaller than Alice. She wore short pants and some kind of work-out-suit. Probably the latest fashion. She had shorter hair than Alice and it was a lighter type of brown.  
  
"Hello, Uriko." Alice said with an irritated tone in her voice. "Oooh, you two were busy?" Uriko said with a grin. "As a matter of fact, yes." Alice said with her slight Brittish accent. It had been noticed by Yugo before. He thought it fitted her. "This smartpants must be your sister." Yugo commented. "Sort of." Alice spoke. "Pretty hotshot you got there, sis." Uriko said, grinning at Yugo.  
  
"Yes. And you'll have to eat a lot of vegatables to grow up and seduce one of your own, shorty." Alice said taunting, annoyed by the fact that Uriko broke her moment with Yugo. "Very funny, sis." Uriko said, walking to the door. She walked past Yugo and Alice and grabbed her backpack which was lying next to the door. "I'm going to school, okay?" Uriko said before opening the door and leaving the house. Alice watched her for a moment before she closed the door and turned to Yugo again. "I hope it's safe for her. You never know with Xion." Yugo murmered. "Would you just cut it out?" Alice said. "Why are you so affraid of this man? He didn't look that dangerous to me."  
  
"No..." Yugo started, bittered as he thought back at that day, eleven years ago...  
  
Mom? Dad? Bakuryu? Blood... So much blood! God, please don't let this be! Was it my fault? It can't be! Where are they? Blood! Everywhere! The stairs! A crying baby... Bakuryu! Running up the stairs... More blood... Mom? Dad? Turning around the corner... NO!!  
  
Yugo abruptly turned his head away from Alice. "What's wrong?" Alice asked concerned. She used her hand to turn Yugo's face to her. His eyes had a frightened glance. "The past..." Yugo murmered. "The terrible past..." His flashback and his exhausted body became to much for him and he collapsed on the ground, but Alice caught him just in time. "You're exhausted. I'll take you upstairs." she said, hoping that Yugo would cooperate a little. The two walked up the stairs and entered Alice's room, Alice supporting Yugo. She put him on her bed and looked at him with her caring brown eyes.  
  
"Rest, stud." she said. It sounded like a sweet order. "I'm going to get you something to eat." she said before she left the room. When she returned with a few sandwiches, she saw that Yugo was deeply asleep. She put the sandwiches on a table and sat down on the bed next to Yugo. She brushed some of his light-brown hair aside and gazed at him. He was cute when asleep. His chest slowly rose and lowered in a continues motion. It was strange.  
  
She barely knew a thing about Yugo and yet she was crazy about him. Perhaps one of those love-on-first-sight-cases. She hoped so. But she wondered what was going on between him and Xion. It was obvious Xion wasn't the gentleman he proclaimed to be. She suddenly heard the doorbell ring a couple of times. She stood up and walked out of the room, down the stairs, to the door and opened it.  
  
She saw a man in a long, red coat. He had shoulder-length, grey hair and was pretty handsome for his presumable age. "Ah. You must be Alice. What a beautiful young lady you are." the man spoke in strange, melodic tones. There was a dark, raspy tone in his voice. "If you say so. Who are you?" Alice said, a bit intimidated by the long man. "My name is Xion, my dear. I'm looking for a dangerous young man. A raper."  
  
"I... Is that so?" Alice asked, stiffening over the name Xion. "Yes. His name is Yugo. Have you seen him lately?"  
  
"N... No." Alice said rapidly, realising it didn't sound very convincing. "Don't lie to me, my dear. He is very dangerous. He has killed many young women before. He makes them fall in love with him, says nice things to them, gives them presents and money and then... He rapes them and murders them." Xion said, speaking slowly and very convincing. "Filthy liar!" Alice suddenly yelled. It wasn't that she had no reason to believe Xion, but she didn't WANT to believe him. "Don't try to protect him, Alice. He'll stab you straight in the back. I'm serious."  
  
"Telling lies again, Xion?" Yugo, who stood at the top of the stairs, said. He walked down them to an evil grinning Xion. "That's the only thing you can do, besides slaughtering innocent people." Yugo said, walking past Alice and looking Xion straight in the eyes. "Look who's finally developped a backbone." Xion said challenging. "Leave her alone. She's done nothing to you."  
  
"No, but the friends of my enemies are also my enemies. And you seem to be getting very close to her. If she dies. it will be YOUR fault, wolf-boy." Xion said. Alice wondered what 'wolf-boy' meant. It probably had to do something with Yugo's past. She figured the scars on his face could've been made by a wolf. Yugo pushed Xion back. "I won't leave her side for a moment and I'll be on my guard all time." Yugo said with a slight growl in his voice.  
  
"Perhaps. But..." Xion started. He turned around and started to walk away. "You can't be sharp always. When you turn your back... For a moment. A few minutes. Nothing more..." Xion looked over his shoulder at Yugo. "She's dead." Xion walked away after he had said that and disappeared from view. "What a creepy guy..." Alice murmered as she carefully closed the door, affraid of too much noise. Why? She couldn't say. She was at least convinced of Yugo's innocence. Xion was the bad guy, that was for sure. "He's right." Yugo sighed. "I can't protect you twenty-four houres a day. I'm going to train you."  
  
"But you're tired and..."  
  
"Now."  
  
"You know, we have to work on that impatient attitude of yours, Yugo." Alice said as Yugo opened the door, took her arm and dragged her with him.  
  
"You look pretty agile, Alice. So I think you should concentrate on style more than strength." Yugo said to Alice, who stood next to him in the gym. "Is that so?" Alice asked. "Yes." Yugo said strident. "Can you do a somersault?" Alice shrugged her shoulders. I did have good grades for gymnastics."  
  
"Okay. Try practising on the trampoline." Yugo said as he went off into some sort of storage and hauled back a trampoline. He disappeared again and returned with a big, thick mat on a wagon. He untied the chain which held the mat at it's place and let it fall on the ground. It filled the room with some noise as it fell down. Yugo put the trampoline in front of the mat and sunk to his knees, dead tired.  
  
"Just... practise..." he murmered before he dropped his head on the mat and fell in a deep sleep. And Alice did what she was told. She practised and practised and practised... Somersaults, backflips, flying kicks, more kicks and kicks... She used the trampoline, the mat, the vaulting-horse, the floor, the rings... Everything she did to get that feeling of balance and to perform dazzling kicks and combos. At the end of the day, she sat down on the mat. Sweating and panting. She was hungry, but Yugo hadn't woke up yet and she didn't want to wake him. Suddenly, he started to murmer: "Alice... Hmm. Yes, that feels so good... You're such a goddess... You're so beautiful, Alice... So..."  
  
Alice giggled. He was dreaming of her. How cute! Yugo slowly opened his eyes, his mind still a bit in dream-land, he noticed Alice's legs. "You've got such fine legs, Alice..." he muttered, right before Alice's soft giggle let him realise he wasn't dreaming anymore. He shot up straight and looked at her confused. "Eh... I had a... strange dream." he said. "I've heard. Was I any good?" Alice asked with a smile. "Fantastic." Yugo said after he realised Alice was able to joke about it. "But I'm not some filthy guy who goes just for sex or something!" he immediatly continued. "I know." Alice said with a smile, kissing his cheek. What nonsense! What did she know about him? Barely a thing! But he was cute and he wouldn't hurt her. She could feel it. She knew it. "What's the time?" Yugo asked with his sleepy head. Alice patted her stomach. "Time for dinner." she said as she stood up.  
  
Yugo and Alice quickly got some chinese, since Alice didn't want to leave Yugo yet and Yugo didn't know how to cook anything. Bakuryu did, but Yugo didn't want his little brother around when he was with Alice. He would only make annoying comments and he would turn the sound of the television high, so that Yugo and Alice would be able to 'enjoy' the monotone music from Bakuryu's newest game on his console. What his little brother liked about games, Yugo never understood. He and Alice sat on the mat, eating, correction, trying to eat with the sticks from the small boxes. Yugo, irritated by his lack of skill with the strange tools of consumption, threw them away and simply used his hands to eat the food, under the excuse that one hadn't gotten hands to hold sticks. Alice smiled. Yugo was so... simple. She loved it. "I believe we got hands for just one purpose." she said, looking at the fluorescent lighting which illuminated the gym. If the owners of it would catch the two, they would be in serious trouble.  
  
She looked at Yugo, who just put some chow mein in his mouth. "Sex." she finished. Yugo blinked with his eyes, his mouth full of food. "Ow. Pis that tho? Tust por thex?" he said, unable to speak normally with the product of Chinese inventiveness in his mouth. Alice's beautiful face changed into a frown. "Yes." she said. "Humans are built for just sex. Animals have to do the impossible to mate, but for humans, it's as easy as one, two, three. Everything sticks out and..." Yugo swallowed his food away. "And you like to talk about that?" he asked challenging, hoping he would... Yes! It worked. Alice blushed. He loved to see her blush. The girl looked down and Yugo kindly stroke her cheek with his index finger. "You're so beautiful when you blush." he said smiling. Alice looked up, a glance of content surprise in her chocolate brown eyes. Yugo kissed her lips softly, a sense of pure happiness emerged from them. 


End file.
